News from Ireland - news from around the 32 counties

Derry enjoyed “exceptional” global media exposure in the Clipper Round the World yacht race, a new report has found.

An independent evaluation of media coverage of the 2011-12 race has revealed that the Derry-Londonderry yacht featured in 2,091 news items. The report states that the news and media reached a cumulative audience of 285 million people with an estimated “public relations value” of $13 million. It further states that an audience of 630 million viewers will see the Derry entry on the “Against the Tide” documentary to be aired on the Discovery Channel, representing an estimated P.R. value of $54.7 million.
[Source: Derry Journal]

DONEGAL

Buncrana’s Scoil Mhuire was agog last Monday with the news that its video has gone viral on YouTube with more than 22,000 hits across 56 countries in just two days.

Teacher Katrina McGonagle, who coordinated the “lip dub” of both teachers and students singing along to the Undertones’ hit “Teenage Kicks,” said she was absolutely amazed at the response to their school video.

She said: “There is a massive buzz here today. We never, ever expected a response like this. What’s happened has even got mentioned in the national media. It really is exciting for us all – not just the students!”
[Source: Donegal Democrat]

DOWN

In the first of several evidence sessions to examine evidence surrounding the murders of two County Down women in Turkey last summer, a witness has testified to seeing the father and son suspects near the scene of the killings.

Best friends Marian Graham, from Newry, and Cathy Dinsmore, from Warrenpoint, were stabbed to death in a forest on the outskirts of the Turkish city of Izmir, in August 2011.

Recep Cetin (22) and his father Eyup are accused of murdering the women and are being tried in a series of hearings which are being held over a number of months in Izmir. Recep was the boyfriend of Marion Graham’s daughter, Shannon, at the time of the killings.
[Source: Examiner Newspaper]

DUBLIN

A gangster jailed for 11 years was heavily involved with a Dublin football club. Before he became a key member of the gang which was led by Eamon “The Don” Dunne, Joseph Warren was heavily involved with his local football club, Belclare Celtic, in Ballymun.

At the time, the former soldier was being commended for his management skills with one club official even telling the Herald in January, 2005: "He's doing an excellent job. The lads work hard in training and Joe has given them the confidence to go out and win games."

But less than three years later Warren was involved in a major cash-in-transit robbery conspiracy, which led to him being given an 11-year jail sentence at Dublin Circuit Court last Wednesday.
[Source: Evening Herald]

FERMANAGH

An electrical substation on private land once owned by the Quinn Group in Derrylin was extensively damaged on Thursday evening, November 8, when vandals broke through the perimeter fence and set the building on fire.

The latest attack on assets of the former Quinn Group has brought an angry reaction from the area’s residents, who ask why such attacks are taking place in the North when Sean Quinn is in jail in Dublin.

And, following the arson attack, there are fears that not only are these incidents damaging the image and the economy of the Derrylin area, but that they could actually hasten the closure of some of the business trading under various receivers and administrators.
[Source: Fermanagh Herald]

GALWAY

The campaign to guarantee the future of the air service to the Aran Islands stepped up a gear last week when more than 100 islanders attended a public meeting in the issue in Galway City.

But the islanders were disappointed that only one government T.D. was present at the meeting, which was called on foot of fears that the subsidy to maintain the air service to the islands is to be withdrawn.

And it has been learned that Junior Gaeltacht Minister Dinny McGinley would not commit to maintaining the $2.5 million subsidy when questioned on Tuesday by both Senator Trevor Ó Clochartaigh and Deputy Eamon Ó Cuív.
[Source: Galway Bay FM]

KERRY

The value of Petrel Resources, an exploration company, quadrupled after it said it had found as much as one billion barrels of oil off the Southwest coast.

The vast reserves are in the so-called South Porcupine basin, which is a huge area off the coast of Kerry.

Petrel believes new computer analysis shows several oil fields on top of one another.

This would make it relatively easy to extract any oil because a single well could suck up oil from many fields.

The snag for Petrel is that any oil is 125 miles from the coast and lies beneath 3,280 feet of water and 1.8 miles of rock.
[Source: Irish Independent]

KILDARE

Thieves operating in the Newbridge area seem to be “getting ready for Christmas” by breaking into local homes and making off with saleable items, ranging from T.V. sets to jewelry and perfumes, according to local Gardaí (police).